Law enforcement officers typically carry a flashlight while on duty. Such flashlights are often referred to as “duty lights”. While these conventional flashlights work well, it may be desirable in some cases to combine multiple functions with the traditional lighting and illumination functions provided by conventional duty lights.
In accordance with this disclosure, a digital photographic recording or video function and an audio or sound recording function can be combined with a traditional duty light function in a compact durable flashlight body.
Photographic recordings of high quality can be obtained with the use of a light diffusing lens cap which can be selectively mounted over the lens of the flashlight. The diffuser lens can be conveniently stored in a compartment formed in part by a removable end cap on the body of the flashlight.
In order to protect the audio recording microphone from shocks, loud noises and water damage, the microphone is conveniently mounted beneath a flexible elastomeric water-tight light switch cover used for operating the lighting function and the audio and video recording function of the flashlight. While it may seem that such a recessed and covered mounting would adversely affect the quality of audio recordings, this has been found not to be the case. In fact, excellent quality audio recordings are possible with the microphone mounted beneath the light switch cover and beneath the switches which are actuated by depressing the switch cover.
To further protect the audio recording microphone from damage due to loud noises, such as gunfire and explosions, the microphone can be covered, encased or encapsulated in a protective sound attenuating covering, such as a foam material, flocked material, sponge-like material, a batting material, or preferably an open-cell foam material.
A polarized lens cap is provided to reduce glare from reflected sunlight. For example, when video recording a shiny object n sunlight, such as a laminated driver's license or a car window, a polarized lens fitted over the lens of the video recorder will improve the quality of the recorded images by reducing the glare reflected from the license or window. Similar improvements are achieved at night by reducing the glare from bright lights, such as high intensity flashlights and car headlights.
In one embodiment, an on-off switch which operates the video recorder is connected to a timer circuit which provides a timed delay between the time the switch is activated and the time the video recorder responds. That is, once an operator depresses or activates the on-off switch for the video recorder, the switch must remain depressed for a predetermined period of time, such as one-half, one or two seconds, before the video recorder is turned on and turned off. This prevents accidental or unintentional activation and deactivation of the video recorder by a momentary brief depression of the video recorder on-off switch such as may occur when the flashlight is dropped or bumped.
Once the video recorder is activated and begins recording, a blinking light can shine through, a translucent switch cover to provide notice to an operator that the flashlight is recording video images. When the video recorder is turned off, the blinking light is also turned off.
The switch cover can include two different surface portions to provide two different tactile sensations to an operators fingers and thumb. For example, a smooth, resilient surface portion, can overlie the video recorder on-off switch, and a textured, resilient surface portion can overlie the flashlight on-off switch. The feel of the different sections provides an indication to the operator that the operator is activating the desired function—i.e. illumination or video recording or, optionally audio recording. Optionally, a third differently textured portion can be provided on the portion of the switch cover overlying the audio switch. Pressing down on the desired switch surface portion activates and deactivates the video recorder and the flashlight and/or optionally, the audio recorder.
In the various views of the drawings, like reference numerals denote like or similar parts.